Free Republic

The Democrat Party is a “very different party” than what he was acquainted with, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) said during an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday. “It’s a different time right now. The Democratic Party is a very different party,” he said, noting that the “lunatic fringe” in the party have become the mainstream. “And these crazy left wing socialists are chasing at them — the more reasonable Democrats. Now, [Sen. Dick] Durbin is a professional politician, but he’s not an unreasonable person, and he’s not a crazy left-wing lunatic socialist,” he said, explaining that the fringe left is...

A Bronx librarian was forced to quit her job because she was traumatized by the unending parade of unhinged patrons — including one who flopped around on the floor naked, another who threatened to “cut off [her] f–king toes,” according to a lawsuit. Kelly Coffey said her New York Public Library horror story began after she started as a senior librarian in the young-adult sections of the Parkchester branch in November 2022. An agitated man came in, talking to himself and looking for his phone, according to Coffey and court papers. “He had his hands in his pockets” and suddenly...

The Brief -State Senator Bill Ramos has died suddenly. -His wife, Councilmember Sarah Perry, announced his passing on Sunday. -Tributes continue to pour in from local leaders. His wife, King County Councilmember Sarah Perry, issued a statement on the state senator's passing, reading, in part: "I am devastated to share that Bill passed away suddenly on the evening of April 19. He was doing what he loved – running on one of the many trails near our Issaquah home. For Bill, these runs were a way to relieve stress during a busy legislative session, a way to stay active –...

...A federal judge is raising alarms that the Trump administration deported a two-year-old U.S. citizen to Honduras with “no meaningful process,” even as the child’s father was frantically petitioning the courts to keep her in the country.... ...officials said in court that the mother told ICE officials that she wished to take V.M.L. with her to Honduras. The filing included a handwritten note in Spanish they claimed was written by the mother and confirmed her intent. But the judge said he had hoped to verify that information. “The Government contends that this is all okay because the mother wishes that...

Kimmel publicly called out Leno for taking back 'The Tonight Show' from Conan O'Brien after handing over the reins in 2010Jay Leno still has regrets about his infamous moment with Jimmy Kimmel. In 2010, Kimmel made an appearance on Leno's show and called him out for his decision to renege on his promise to hand over The Tonight Show to Conan O'Brien. After ratings for the late night show and his 10 p.m. talk show, The Jay Leno Show declined, the comedian returned to the original show while O'Brien refused to switch to a later showtime. After Leno asked...

Former United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice bucked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s intelligence following weeks of scrutiny over leaks at the Pentagon amid massive spending reductions at the Department of Defense (DOD). Rice, who previously served as national security adviser in the Obama administration, questioned Hegseth’s proven ability to lead on an international level in conversation with “No Lie With BTC” podcast host Brian Taylor Cohen. “Well, if you’re a white male Christian cisgender macho MAGA man, you can be as dumb as a rock and be deemed qualified to serve as secretary of Defense. That’s apparently what we’ve learned from...

President Donald Trump used his Truth Social account to berate NFL owners for not drafting Shedeur Sanders in the first round. Sanders is a quarterback who entered the draft after playing with the University of Colorado Buffaloes, where his father Deion Sanders is the head coach. The elder Sanders had a standout athletic career, playing football, baseball, and track at Florida State University before playing professional football and baseball, racking up championships and individual honors in both sports. Deion Sanders has won two Super Bowls and is in both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of...

Numerous world leaders and royals have gathered in Rome for Pope Francis' funeral. Among the most prominent figures at the Vatican's St Peter's Square on Saturday morning were Prince William, US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. Their attendance comes at a fragile time for international diplomacy, with Trump meeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky before the service. So among the VIP attendees, who sat next to whom? Trump was in a front-row seat near Francis' coffin, alongside his wife Melania Trump, across the aisle from Macron and...

‘Kids Don’t Need To Be Drinking These’ – Kawhi Leonard Takes a Dig at Popular Drink Brand April 25, 2025 | 7:51 PM EDT The Los Angeles Clippers took care of business with a 117-84 win in Intuit Dome’s first-ever playoff game. Kawhi Leonard posted a double-double, notching 21 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in the Clippers 34-point rout over the Denver Nuggets. During Kawhi’s postgame press conference, he seemed to take a subtle jab at an iconic sports drink. Kawhi Leonard Takes a Shot at Gatorade, an NBA Sponsor Gatorade has made a name for itself in the...

26 April 2025 Easter SaturdayBasilica of St. Trudpert's Abbey, Salzburg, AustriaReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I).First readingActs 4:13-21We cannot promise to stop proclaiming what we have seen and heardThe rulers, elders and scribes were astonished at the assurance shown by Peter and John, considering they were uneducated laymen; and they recognised them as associates of Jesus; but when they saw the man who had been cured standing by their side, they could find no answer. So they ordered them to stand outside while the Sanhedrin had a private discussion. ‘What are we going to do with these men?’...

Anchored by its immortal lead single, ‘Police & Thieves’ provided a fortuitous career reinvention for roots reggae legend, Junior Murvin.By the time Junior Murvin released his debut album, Police & Thieves, the lead single had already become the sound of political unrest. The song blared out of sound systems and bars on a hot August day in London during the Notting Hill Carnival in 1976, where tensions between Black Caribbean youth and white police officers boiled over into a full-blown riot, and 160 people were hospitalized. There were conflicting reports about how the violence began – supposedly the arrest...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a ceremony for the launch of a “new multipurpose destroyer,” state media KCNA reported on Saturday. The 5,000-tonne warship was equipped with the “most powerful weapons” and built “within 400-odd days perfectly with our own strength and technology,” the report said, quoting Jo Chun Ryong, a secretary in the ruling Workers’ Party.

Blame Hollywood’s “unwokening” and the extraordinary rise of right-wing podcasters on slop: intellectually bereft, emotionally sterile content that’s shaped by data and optimized for clicks. There’s never been a better representation of Donald Trump than those generated by AI; no human being has ever been more suited to the medium. Even the images supplied by his fans exaggerate what makes him strange and terrifying to the rest of us: the strangely flat yet voluptuous contours of his face, the persnickety downward pull of his lips, that hair, that skin. At least the AI version can be made to do anything...

Donald Trump has broken his silence after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at Pope Francis' funeral - and turned on Vladimir Putin. In a rant on his social media platform Truth Social he accused the Russian President of stringing him along and at the same time blamed Democrat Presidents Obama and Biden for a "mess". He wrote: "I’m just trying to clean up the mess that was left to me by Obama and Biden, and what a mess it is. With all of that being said, there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities...

Italian soldiers with anti-drone rifles in Rome, Vaticanoi, for fear Islamist attacks. Because of Islam we are forced to live in fear.

Meet the Slate Truck, a sub-$20,000 (after federal incentives) electric vehicle that enters production next year. It only seats two yet has a bed big enough to hold a sheet of plywood. It only does 150 miles on a charge, only comes in gray, and the only way to listen to music while driving is if you bring along your phone and a Bluetooth speaker. It is the bare minimum of what a modern car can be, and yet it’s taken three years of development to get to this point. But this is more than bargain-basement motoring. Slate is...

The FBI's arrest of a Wisconsin judge shocked the establishment. But it's exactly the kind of escalation the MAGA base has been agitating for. "This is not the time for summer soldiers or sunshine patriots," MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec told Axios, invoking founding father Thomas Paine. Why it matters: Friday's arrest of Milwaukee County judge Hannah Dugan, on charges of obstructing an immigration arrest, is a stunning escalation of President Trump's battles with political opponents.

Standard & Poor’s 500 downgraded its credit rating of city of Los Angeles general obligation bonds, citing its “weakening financial position and an emerging structural imbalance.” Los Angeles faces a $1 billion deficit, having burned through its once-record reserves in just two years. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is currently seeking a state bailout, but given that the state says it has “no capacity” for new spending commitments, it’s unclear if the funding will materialize. S&P warns that if trends continue, it could further downgrade the city’s credit rating, which would further increase borrowing costs due to higher associated risk...

Why should the Internal Revenue Service have enough trained manpower, guns, and ammo to equip nine or ten infantry battalions? Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has revealed that employees of the Internal Revenue Service owe about $50 million in back taxes. The problem extends far beyond the IRS: In Fiscal Year 2021, the IRS found that 149,000 federal employees owed about $1.5 billion in unpaid taxes. Let’s bear that in mind while looking at the amount of firepower the IRS can deploy. In 2020, they had 2,100 “special agents,” who carry firearms and are fully trained to use them. These are...